IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ids/ijcome/v8y2018i3-4p301-324.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Geographical dynamics of knowledge flows: descriptive statistics on inventor network distance and patent citation graphs in the pharmaceutical industry

Author

Listed:
  • Ben Vermeulen

Abstract

In the knowledge-based geography of innovation literature, there are two opposing claims on the spatio-temporal pattern in knowledge flows over a technological trajectory. Firstly, after the breakthrough, externalities stimulate agglomeration of specialised firms and thus cause incremental inventions to take place progressively localised. Secondly, after the breakthrough, progressive codification and technological crystallisation facilitates collaboration over greater distances. In this study, forward citation graphs of breakthrough patents are constructed and enriched with locations of inventors. Using these citation graphs, we study claims on co-inventor distances and distances of groups of inventors across citations. We find support for existing claims and alternative spatio-temporal patterns. Notably that, early on in trajectories, inventors generally collaborate mostly locally, yet cite knowledge sources found more remotely. Later on, inventors collaborate over greater distances, yet cite more local sources. Conclusively, there is progressive globalisation of inventor networks, whereby inventors increasingly use local sources in follow-up inventions.

Suggested Citation

  • Ben Vermeulen, 2018. "Geographical dynamics of knowledge flows: descriptive statistics on inventor network distance and patent citation graphs in the pharmaceutical industry," International Journal of Computational Economics and Econometrics, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 8(3/4), pages 301-324.
  • Handle: RePEc:ids:ijcome:v:8:y:2018:i:3/4:p:301-324
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=96357
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ids:ijcome:v:8:y:2018:i:3/4:p:301-324. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sarah Parker (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.inderscience.com/browse/index.php?journalID=311 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.